Rejection of Containment Policy in the Management of COVID-19 in Kenyan Slums: Is Social Geometry an Option?

Abstract This paper contests the ‘massification’ policy of ‘containment’ in the management of pandemics (COVID-19) in Kenya’s densely populated areas. The paper proposes a typological construct of social geometry for analyzing and designing public health intervention (PHI) in areas with such unique geographies. We contrast this approach with the two most widespread forms of social control: social distancing and spatial distancing. Our central claim is that the policy of ‘containment’ fails to recognize the socio-cultural, economic and political complexities of the urban slum residents. This unmitigated policy predisposes the residents to risks of heightened transmission of the pandemic. Social geometry model, however, has the potential of informing the redesign of an alternative PHI that is compatible with the unique pattern of livelihood in the informal settlement. Based on the residents’ pattern of livelihood (which exhibits a pendulum-like swings), and their geometry of life, we coin a thinking framework; ‘social pendulum.’ Our conclusion revisits the reliability and validity criteria for the new framework, and offers some direction for future research.